The No. 19 ranked USC Trojans defeated the No. 17 UCLA Bruins on Friday night in front of a raucous 2,777 fans in Pauley Pavilion. The win gives USC (5-6, 1-2 Pac-10) the first points of the year towards the Lexus Gauntlet trophy, while the Bruins fall to 7-5, 0-3 in Pac-10 play.

Freshman Kaitlin Sather led the Bruins with 18 kills and a career high 18 digs, while junior Nana Meriwether added 11 kills and 9 blocks. Freshman Kelsey Hall also had a career night, posting 12 kills and 13 digs (both career highs).

As a team, the Bruins hit .156, compared to the Trojans who hit .275. UCLA still holds a 50-45 all-time record over USC

In game one, UCLA opened up the game with five unanswered points, but the Trojans would go on an 8-3 run to tie the game at 8-8. With the game tied at 15, USC would take their first lead of the game off a service ace by Debora Seilhamer. UCLA retook the lead for good after a kill by Nancy Barba, and would go on to win game one 30-25.

UCLA scored first in game two, but it was all USC as the Trojans would go on an 8-0 run to push their lead to 15-7, capped off by a Babiana Candelas kill. USC would go on to win 30-15.

The Bruins came out strong in the third game, as USC and UCLA would trade points back and forth for the majority of the game. With the game tied at 14, USC would use a 16-6 run to put the game away, and win 30-20.

In the fourth game, the Trojans jumped out to an early 7-3 lead and seemingly put the game away, but the Bruins would battle back to make it a hard earned victory for USC. UCLA closed to 25-26 after a kill by freshman Elise Carstensen, but USC would hang on to win the fourth game, 30-26, giving them the match.

The Bruins continue Pac-10 action next weekend in Pauley Pavilion as they face Oregon on Friday, October 7 at 7:00 pm and Oregon State on Saturday, October 8 at 7:00 pm.